Your boy got closer than my twin 3yr olds. They wouldn't go near the creepy old man. We ended up getting the photo with them in the stroller in front of Santa. They still were screaming in the photo (of course my wife still bought the awful photos!)
It was funny, the Santa guy asks me "how come kids watch monsters on TV and play with monster toys, yet are afraid of me". I responded something like: Monsters are colorful cartoons and your just a creepy old man wearing a red outfit. No offense intended, but take the suit and beard away and I'm glad my kids aren't interested in sitting on middle aged stranger's laps.
